Recycled Plastics Not Required to be in Products “Made from Recycled Plastics”
Many products these days are advertised as being made from recycled plastic, and it makes consumers feel better about their purchases. Turns out, these products are just another example of greenwashing that major production companies use to appear more sustainable. However, this method of greenwashing is deeper than changing the label colors and phrasing because it involves the balancing of recycling credits that are applied to any of their manufactured products.
Mass balance accounting certifies a mix of recycled and new plastics as a given percentage of recycled overall, and the mix of partially recycled materials goes into a multitude of products that do not necessarily end up on the shelves. Tritan Renew is a newer durable plastic that Eastman Chemical has created and gets marketed as having “up to 50% recycled material.” Camelbak water bottles are great examples of Tritan Renew and its misleading labelling. In reality, it is impossible to tell whether there is any recycled plastic in Tritan Renew products because of the mass balance certification system. Eastman, and other companies, accumulate credits for conducting the process of recycling plastics by generating the plastics mix, but this new plastic cannot be traced to new products to which the credits have been applied (NYTimes).
Certification of mass balance accounting exists but lies in the hands of the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), which has a majority of board members with chemical or fuel industry connections. In response to the criticism of pollution advocacy groups that mass balancing is misleading consumers, Eastman and the ISCC argue that the recycling is happening as part of a larger circular economy. Though this claim makes sense in terms of total numbers, the outward facing consumer end does not match the reality of the process. And if products made of Tritan Renew on the shelves do not contain the recycled plastics mix, where are the recycled materials going? The lack of traceability limits the potential of these positive recycling efforts.
As consumers, we currently have the responsibility to be informed with regards to the source of our products and make choices to reduce our waste. Less waste produced means relying less on recycling companies like Eastman to solve our excess plastic problem. A circular economy can mean using less plastic and reusing items to extend their lifetime and closing the loop before they reach larger waste facilities where we have less direct control of how our former items are handled.